


Cramped

by Jellywish



Category: Dragon Quest Builders (Video Games)
Genre: Accidental Cuddling, Builder doesn't sleep much, Cuddling & Snuggling, Embarrassment, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Internal Conflict, Not Beta Read, Or Is It?, Other, Protective Malroth, Unnamed Builder, builder is nb so you can imagine any gender you wish for them, mentions of drinking, the builder curses in their head several times
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:07:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22316035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jellywish/pseuds/Jellywish
Summary: After a rough night at the Khrumbul-dun inn, the builder decides to make a new place to sleep.
Relationships: Builder & Malroth (Dragon Quest Builders 2), Builderoth - Relationship
Comments: 15
Kudos: 129





	Cramped

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I've made public in a very long time. And if you didn't see before, this has not been beta read, so I apologize for any mistakes made. I don't mind fixing any if you find some, so lmk! I love this ship a lot so I hope I did them justice!! ❤️

Khrumbul-dun was undoubtedly crowded. The muscle-headed miners that lived here absolutely loved to sleep with their biceps touching one another; something the builder didn't really understand all too well. After spending the night at the inn that they had built for the lot of them, they decided that they would need a room all to themselves. Getting bumped around like that all night made the builder nearly lose their mind. A small room would be fine so they wouldn't take up too much space in town.

They got to work immediately; nearly spending all day at the workbench carving out blocks, a door, and some bed frames. Sooner or later, more people will show up to town when they'll ring the bell again, and they shuttered at the thought of bodies being cramped up in that tiny space. It was nice to get prepared for that _right now_ instead of later. The mines could wait for the time being.

Malroth watched them work throughout the day occasionally, wondering to himself what they were working on so diligently, as the residents hadn't asked for anything else to be built at the moment. In the middle of the afternoon, he finally asked them what was up.

"Oh! Last night was..." The builder made a face of confusion and pain as they shrugged at the man. Malroth knew what they meant though. Getting prodded around like that was annoying, and he didn't hesitate to punch a miner in the arm right back before finally getting back to sleep. If only he had a plac--

"You're making a place to sleep, aren't you?"

The builder said an exasperated "Yes!" while slamming their hands on the workbench. "I don't think I slept at all, Malroth. Oh, it was terrible. I haven't been to bed in like..."

"Three days." The odd man crossed his arms and looked at them sternly. If only he were better at building, he'd help them make a bedroom so they could get some shut eye for once.

The builder sheepishly grinned while rubbing the back of their neck and looking away from from him, "...yeah."

Malroth sighed, dreading what was about to come out of his mouth. He didn't want to add to the builder's workload on this little project that they were doing for themselves, but he couldn't take another night at that inn either.

"Do--"

"I--"

They both spoke at the same time, but the builder smiled that goofy smile of their's as Malroth told them to go ahead.

"I was gonna say that I'm totally making you a bed too, by the way. A really good one! We could have like a... shared bedroom or something?" They laughed nervously at (what felt like) the word vomit they had spilled out of their mouth. "I-I mean if that's what you wanna do, of course!"

Malroth chuckled to himself before laughing out just a bit. "Goddess, thank you." He smiled enough that his eyes began to squint. "If any monsters get in your way while you're working on this, I'll pummel 'em!" He took the club from his back and pointed it at an angle to the sky, kind of like a declaration. "So don't you worry about those creeps." He put the club back where it belonged and turned away to start patrolling around town again. "Ah, and don't worry about what I was gonna say. It's nothing." He smiled once again before leaving the builder to continue their work.

* * *

  
In the early evening, the builder had the walls built up for the shared bedroom. It was located next door to the inn for convenience. They would put the door on last when decoration was complete. And speaking of decorating, they had come to a dilemma. How was this bed situation going to work? Where were they going? In the corners? In the middle of the room? ...Next to each other? The builder cocked their head as they thought about it. Malroth wasn't the touchy-feely type and it's probably another one of the reasons why he wanted out of the inn in the first place.

However, he never hesitated to sleep next to the builder before. Like that first night on the Isle of Awakening or back in Furrowfield. In fact, when the builder actually made an effort to get some rest, Malroth would always sleep next to them, or try his best to get as close as he could to them. They never really thought about it before until now.

'Welp', they thought, 'side by side it is then!' When the builder placed the beds down though, they felt their face get warm. It looked... cozy. Maybe too cozy? Whenever they slept side by side, there were always others in the same room. They had never thought about how potentially intimate a small room with two beds side by side in it would be. How stupid were they? Goddess, maybe they should just move it? Everything was all in place though. A light, a couple of stools and even a potted flower to just add a little something! Now, how were they going to arrange this?

"Hey! This looks good! We staying here for the rest of our visit?" Malroth had come up next to the builder and placed a gloved hand on their shoulder that was closest to him. It actually looked nice inside and one hundred times better than the inn. The builder was startled by this, just when they were about to don their own pair of red gloves to move the beds away from each other.

"Oh! Y-You think so? Well, uh..."

"Hm? Whatcha waiting for? Slap a door on this thing and make it our room. I would rather not sleep in a dirt covered bed because one of these dummies thought they could sleep in here." Malroth looked particularly serious about the dirt. Maybe he had terrible memories of it in Furrowfield? The builder had the ownership of the room covered already though, as two name plates hung above the beds. They would need to write on them after the door was placed though. Easy peasy. Right? Goddess, the beds were still next to each other. They couldn't move them NOW, especially because Malroth thinks this is the finished product.

The builder sighed softly to themselves and, feeling pressured, finally placed the door on. They then went inside as people started to gather and wrote both their and Malroth's names on the name plates. Maybe they'd rearrange later while Malroth was getting into friendly scuffles at the Copper Bar. When the builder stepped out to greet everyone, they only saw Malroth standing there, again with his arms crossed and looking at them with that same stern look from before.

"Get some sleep."

The builder felt their cheeks flush from embarrassment. That's right. They hadn't slept in three days now. Four if you count today. The battle-hardened man that stood before them began to walk forward and opened the door for them. "Go on."

"But Mal... Mal, what about--?"

"I... What? I said I would thrash any monsters that got in your way. That means getting some rest, even though it's a bit early. You need it, so go on. I'll turn in later."

"...Okay. Thanks, Malroth." The builder gave him one of their goofy smiles before closing the door and going into full on Panic Mode. They sat down on one of the stools and contemplated things. Which bed should they take? And how should they dress for bed time, now that they got a room to share with their friend?

They shook their head after a while and decided to sleep in their clothing like usual. They took off their sword and shield and sat it on the stool that they were sitting on previously. The builder looked at the beds again as they took off the builder's book from their back. They couldn't rearrange them. No, when Malroth saw the room, those beds were set in stone. They didn't want to hurt his feelings or anything like that by moving them apart.

Nervously, the builder climbed into the bed that they had placed into the corner after kicking off their boots. That would make it easier for Malroth to climb into his own bed and not have to awkwardly crawl over the frame. Goddess, why did they place a bed in the corner? So stupid. The builder didn't have much time with their thoughts for the night. When they got all covered up and settled, the weariness of their body hit them like a truck. It wasn't long before they fell soundly asleep, facing the wall.

* * *

  
Why'd they call him _Mal_? Babs said it was a nickname, whatever that meant. But why did it make him feel weird? Like, the color yellow was filling up his insides. And not the gross kind of yellow either. The one that reminds you of the warm sun or a bright smile. Or a brightly smiling warm sun. Whatever. It could've just been all the digger's jigger sitting in his stomach. Granted, he only had like one and a half at this point. Not enough to make him lose his senses like the brutes to his right at the giant table.

He got up and pushed the odd sensation aside as he patrolled the town one last time before heading to bed. Oh right, no more muscle bumps in the night now. He was thankful the builder had made a place for them to sleep. Honestly, Malroth didn't get much sleep himself, but he tried. He got more than the builder, for sure. However, he did need to keep his guard up during the night. Who knew when The Children of Hargon would attack or if anyone tried messing with the builder, especially while they slept. If he had to guess, he woke up about every hour to listen for potential monsters lurking about. Sometimes, he'd hear the occasional reaper moan, but as long as they weren't accompanied by the sounds of someone being sliced apart, he would stay put.

After making his rounds, he finally made it to his door. He pushed it in quietly, doing his best to not disturb the builder. He relaxed a bit at seeing their sleeping form under the covers. Malroth took a proper look at the small room now that he was actually in it and it was quaint. The fact that they actively tried to make it look nice with the potted flower... Well, that wouldn't be _his_ first choice. Maybe some spikes. Could they make decorative spikes? Maybe some day. He noted that they had left the lantern on, so he blew it out and got ready for bed himself. Malroth followed suit and set his club on the vacant stool and set his boots next to the builder's. The man didn't really realize how snug this whole room was; how small the room actually was now that both of them were inside it. He slid into bed as softly as he could and just laid there for a bit when that warm, yellow feeling came creeping back up into his insides. Eventually, sleep took him.

* * *

  
The builder didn't dream. They never did. They wondered why they were conscious though and sighed, wanting to go back to sleep. And then their eyes shot open. Whose arm was around them? Oh. That's right. They had built a room for themselves and Malroth to share... What the hell? What the _hell_?! Their face was instantly warm and when they tried to figure out what to do by trying to concentrate, it got even worse. They felt his breath on the back of their neck and shivered. A bad move on their part, because the muscular man held onto them tighter and brought them a little closer. The builder could feel his body heat now. Goddess, he was warm.

Too embarrassed to fall asleep at the moment, they thought about everything they went though with Malroth up to this point. They'd be lying to themselves if they said that Mal wasn't attractive, but the builder wasn't going to ruin such a nice friendship. What a terrible time to come to terms with their feelings. Downright horrible. They thought about how strong, yet sweet he was. They thought about those cocky smirks he would flash sometimes. Ugh, why now? He was spooning them.

They needed to get out of this situation. They were desperate to get out of it without waking up Malroth. He needed his sleep too. Plus, what would he do if he woke up like this? With his arm around the builder. His chest almost pressed up against their back. They almost wanted to laugh. Why would he lie about not being the touchy-feely type? Though, his unconsciousness has never betrayed him like this before. Maybe it was the fact that they were secluded from the rest of the town for once? No, it had to be something else, and there was no time to deduct what that was.

'Move, move, move, move!' They kept shouting at themselves to just push their body forward; to just get it over with already. 'Okay! Okay... three...' The builder braced themselves and shut their eyes tightly. 'Two... one...!' And right on cue, Malroth finally closed the tiny gap between them. It was like fitting two puzzle pieces together. His chest finally connected to their back and he tried to intertwine their legs, but the builder didn't allow him to. They wanted to scream. They were on fire and they just _really_ wanted nothing more than to scream, but doing it internally was working well enough. They had no choice now and they really didn't want to do this, but they had to wake him up.

"Malroth..." they whispered, "Hey, uh, Malroth?"

He shifted, still holding on.

The builder cleared their throat as quietly as they could. "Malroth, wake up..."

"Nnn..."

Oh, Goddess... Oooooh Goddess, that was right by their ear. _Please, no more._ They sucked in air quickly as a response, almost regretting this decision to wake him. "Mal, you... You're..."

A soothing sigh came from the man behind them. "I thought I told you to go to sleep."

The builder tensed. Okay, _what the FUCK?_ They didn't dare look back at him. "Y-Yeah, but you're... Not that I'm not... Uh, your arm?"

"What about it?"

Was he joking?! Gah, of course he wasn't! Malroth is as blunt as they come. And to top it all off, due to his confusion of human interactions, this intimate hold he had on the builder probably means nothing to him. But why? He has got to see this as normal somehow. Has he done this before? The flustered builder had no choice but to be blunt as well.

"Malroth, you've got your arm wrapped around me and you're pressed up against my back." They were surprised steam hadn't started to pour out of their ears. Saying it out loud was just as embarrassing.

"Yeah? We always sleep like this. What's wrong?" He shifted a bit, but remained in this position nonetheless.

 **WHAT?!** "Uh..." The builder's mind had ceased to function. A thousand questions were running though it. Possible scenarios. What had happened?! They needed to respond. They needed to pick one of the questions to ask! When did this start happening? How come whenever they woke up, they were never in this position? Was Malroth _really_ okay with this being a thing?! But, all that managed to slip out from the builder's dry lips were, "Nothing."

They mentally slapped themselves on the forehead.

"...Okay, what's up?" Malroth said in a hazy voice.

They were so grateful for him saying that. The builder really couldn't lie like this. "Okay, wait... wait..." They stirred beneath his arm, which he lifted to let them move, and got themselves turned around to look at him. They were taken aback. They were met with Malroth's head half-sunken into the soft pillow they had made for him; one red eye focused on theirs. Stone-faced, with his unruly hair even more disheveled. No signature purple jacket in sight.

"Malroth," the builder began, "I'm just a little bit embarrassed being... THAT close is all."

"Hm? But you started it."

"I-- What?"

"Yeah," he turned to lie on his back and they could swear his caramel-colored skin was flushed as well, "When we were in Furrowfield, you held onto me like that. It was the first time you went a full day without sleep."

"Oh..." The builder felt like apologizing, but what would they be apologizing for? 'Sorry I hugged you in my deep sleep that one time. I won't do it again'?

Sensing their confusion, Malroth continued, "Soon, it was every time you went any number of days without sleep. It just became a normal thing."

"I don't... Really remember..."

"Of course you don't." He sat up in bed a little, causing the sheets to slide town his torso. "You were absolutely knocked out," he said with a hint of amusement in his voice, "and I wasn't about to wake you up. I... didn't mind. Still don't, obviously." His skin was definitely flushed now as he broke eye contact.

"Well..." the builder started, "i-if you don't mind it, then... uh, then I don't mind it either." They smiled at him as they got settled back into bed, pulling the sheets up to their chin. They yawned lazily right after and for the third time, Malroth felt what he now realized was happiness in his core. Make no doubt about it that it was still an odd sensation to have at this time for him. He'd deal with it later, he thought.

"Heh, well come on then." He lifted his sheets up, encouraging the builder to come over to his side. "Might as well get right to it, hm?" His lips curled into that signature mischievous smirk and the builder scooted over meekly under his arm. They were hesitant though; embarrassed to continue further.

"It's alright." Malroth almost whispered. With the go ahead, the builder laid their head on his chest and snaked an arm around him, cuddling into his torso. Like before, he was warm. They could hear his heart beat, which was a little faster than normal, they noticed. The builder fluttered their eyes shut, unable to keep them open any longer.

"...warm.... 's good..."

"Hm... go to sleep." Malroth wrapped his arm around the builder's back; his hand resting on their shoulder. He did his best to relax and soon, sleep took him and the builder both. They would sleep peacefully throughout the night.


End file.
